Crafter in The Spotlight 53 - Itsy Bitsy

Hello Crafty Folks, this Thursday is special!! It’s our 53^rd Crafter in the Spotlight; that means we have completed a journey of One Year. That’s exciting isn’t it?? We have celebrated a talented crafter every week for an entire year and will continue to do so to motivate and bring out hidden talents!

Today, I am here to feature yet another extremely talented crafter from Delhi. She is Preeti Datta, a crafter who chose to go with freelancing jobs to make time for crafting. She started with kid’s craft and moved on to discover various techniques of mainstream crafting like mixed media, card making, journaling and more.

Preeti rightly calls her crafting style eclectic and ever evolving because she likes to try out different styles, starting from simple cards to mixed media. Little Birdie color sprays, flowers and embellishments are among Preeti’s favourite craft supplies and she loves using them quite often.

 What are Preeti’s tips for fellow crafters, her favourite quote, how would she contribute to crafting world if she had magical powers?? To know all these & to know more about her interesting journey & to see a step by step project of hers, please read the interview & leave your comments for her.

Rashmi Closepet, MD, Itsy Bitsy: Tell us a bit about yourself & your background?

Preeti Datta: My name is Preeti Datta, my friends on facebook know me as Dutt Preety. I’m a resident of Delhi. I have studied Clinical Psychology and worked as a Psychologist and a Talent Acquisition Specialist. Currently, I work as a freelancer so that I have time to craft and work on other assignments.  Cooking, watching movies, listening to music and crafting are my favorite leisure time activities. My family consists of my parents. My dad was a Naval Aviator and my mother was a School Principal. I have 2 elder sisters, 3 nephews and 1 niece and I really enjoy spending time with the little ones.

RC: How did you get into crafting?

PD: I have always enjoyed crafting. Even as a child I spent hours dressing up my Barbie dolls and making new clothes and jewellery for them. Over the past few years, I have helped out my nephews, niece and friends’ children in their school art and craft work and holiday homework projects and that’s how I started children’s crafting. I got into proper crafting last year in September, 2016. Ever since then I have been hooked. I really enjoy creating, working with colors and learning new techniques.

RC: What is your favourite type of craft?

PD: I enjoy paper crafting and I think card making is my favorite followed closely by art journaling.

RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

PD: I really love the Little Birdie color sprays; I use them on almost all my Mixed Media work. Also, the Little Birdie theme based embellishments and flowers are quite beautiful and I enjoy splurging on those every so often.

RC: If you had magical powers, how would you contribute to the Crafting world?

PD:  If I had magical powers, I’d contribute to the crafting world by making all kinds of art and craft tools, supplies and tutorials available and affordable to anybody who wishes to craft. So that everybody has the opportunity to learn and enjoy it.

RC: Your prized possession in your craft stash from Itsy Bitsy?

PD: The dies, embossing folders and pattern papers I bought from Itsy Bitsy. I have a huge stash of those and absolutely adore them.

RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?

PD: I would describe my style of crafting as eclectic and ever evolving. I am enamored by different styles of art work including CAS, mixed media and shabby chic. I like experimenting with all these styles and varying it up.

RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?

PD:  I try to craft on most days during the week. I just enjoy the process; sometimes it takes me a few hours and at others can take a few days. A lot of times, thinking about the design and composition takes a lot longer.

RC: Tips for people who want to craft

PD: I would say just jump into it, watch youtube tutorials, read a few blogs, try out simple things with the materials you already have at home, see what piques your interest. Try spending a little time every day crafting, coloring or pursuing any creative endeavor because it is a great stress buster and your precious “me” time.

RC: Your all-time favourite quote?

PD: “Determine to live life with flair and laughter” – Maya Angelou

Here is a gorgeous project by Preety & step by step procedure:

Mixed Media Mini Canvas: 

Step 1: Collect the materials required. I have here supplies from Itsy Bitsy including a Mont Marte Canvas Panel (5 by 7), Mont Marte Impasto Paste, Camel’s Gesso, Palette knives and Burlap Ribbon 

Step 2: Apply Impasto paste or any other texture/modeling paste you have onto the canvas through a stencil 

Step 3: Add more texture (for added interest) with some gesso. Randomly apply it with the edge of the palette knife to give vertical textured lines. This will create movement in the piece

Step 4: Cut the Burlap Ribbon into thin strips and adhere layers of these strips onto the canvas based on your composition, I have kept them skewed to the right. I’ve adhered them with gesso itself.

Step 5: Now comes the fun part, we get to add the embellishments and color the project. Here is a selection of Little Birdie Flowers, chipboard and sparkly bits I had in my stash, I will use some of these on the project

Step 6: I will use the new Little Birdie Gold Alcohol Splash Sprays to add color to the canvas as well as color the chipboard. I’ve used 4 colors on the project ie., Pure Gold, Wild Rose, Golden Mocha and Black Soot.

Step 7: Finally, adhered all the embellishments. The title consists of a scripty die cut and a couple of word stickers, then added some sparkle to the canvas with the hearty mélange (gold hearts). Finished off by adding few details with inks and black and white markers and then some splatters of ink. 

Here are a couple of Preeti's other awesome creations:

Many congrats Preeti for being the CRAFTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT – ITSY BITSY!!

You will receive Rs.500/- Itsy Bitsy gift voucher 😊😊 & a Crafter in the Spotlight badge, which can be proudly displayed on the side bar of your blog and other platforms. Looking forward to many more creations, Happy Crafting!